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Saturday, April 13, 2019

Kickstarter - The Folio #22 (1E/5E D&D Adventure)


I've been following The Folio releases since the first issue and have been pleased with the consistent quality of the releases. I expect the same high quality with The Folio #22.
What is included in Folio #22?  This module will provide the adventurers with access to Level 3 of the Kasbah Dungeon as well as a new monster that even threatens the existence of the Infernal Machine.  Dungeon details include 2D standard 'blue' hex maps as well as fully 3D renderings of  Level 3.  It also features a fully removable stand-alone cover that can act as a DM screen.      
Who is this adventure for? It will be based around classic AD&D gaming mechanics, while also have 'grey' stat and treasure blocks for 5th Edition D&D,  so it is easily playable in BOTH formats.  It has been designed for  6-8 characters, roughly levels 11 thru 13, and will include a Virtual Table Top map without secret doors, traps, and numbers. (this is spot on!)
The Folio has released consistently on time and I see no reason why that trend should end.


10 bucks for the PDF, 18 for the Print plus PDF.

Friday, April 12, 2019

GoFundMe - Gary Con Attendee in Need of New Kidney


As gamers, we are part of a larger community. A community that supports and encourages its members. Today, one of our members needs our support.

Dakota was brought to my attention by a gamer / police officer that I know from attending Gary Con: 
This young lady has been attending GaryCon since she was a kid, but hadn’t shared much of her medical problems with gamers until this year. She unloaded on me and my crew and we were afflicted with the Do Something disease that can still seize even the most bitter paladins… Having 3 coppers there, we were determined to blast this out to cops and gamers.
The Tavern will match the first $250 raised by members of The Tavern's Community. Just make a comment below and let me know how much you gave. Please don't stop giving when the $250 is matched. Please DO share this far and wide. Thank you - Tenkar

From Dakota's GoFundMe Page:
Dakota Alvarado-Ortiz teaches before- and after-school programs for K-5 students in Green Bay, WI. She is a sharp, energetic, outgoing young woman who enjoys dancing, modeling, and fantasy gaming. Most importantly, Dakota is the devoted mother of a 2-year old daughter, Scarlett.

Since the age of 6, Dakota has suffered from chronic hydronephrosis: her kidneys fill with fluid, become infected, and ultimately lose function. Hydronephrosis is usually a symptom of another problem, typically a blockage – but in Dakota's case, her doctors have yet to determine the cause. She has endured dozens of surgeries and learned to live with near-constant pain.

Dakota's right kidney had to be removed two years ago; her left one was recently assessed at 20% function and diminishing gradually. When it falls below 15%, she will need to be on continual dialysis. To have a good chance at a healthy, normal life, Dakota is badly in need of a kidney transplant – and there have been obstacles to this.

Because Dakota has a rare blood type, there are no eligible donors among her family and friends. The hospitals that could perform the transplant have not placed her on their kidney lists because the cause of her hydronephrosis is not known, and patients with more certain odds of success are given priority. She has been told that when the function of her remaining kidney drops below 15%, becoming imminently life-threatening, she will have a greater chance of being placed on the list – but has not been guaranteed a spot. IF placed on the list, she would wait on permanent dialysis, with an undetermined number of patients ahead of her. She would not be able to work and would have difficulty supporting her daughter.

There is a much more promising option for Dakota, however: two hospitals would place her at #3 on their kidney list at a cost of $100,000. This figure is not merely a donation to their institutions; it also covers, in advance, all medical costs of the transplant for both Dakota and the kidney donor. A properly functioning kidney would set up Dakota (and Scarlett) for an immeasurably brighter future.

Dakota's family does not possess the financial means to meet this daunting amount, and we are hoping to do so with this fundraiser. Even if we fall short, the funds raised will be an enormous help; Dakota's medical insurance is less than optimal, and she is slowly paying off substantial out-of-pocket costs from prior procedures and emergency medical services. An amount less than needed for placement on the kidney list could alternately enable Dakota to wipe out her existing medical debt, with the remainder placed in her kidney savings account toward her future transplant.

Thank you for your consideration.

Thursday, April 11, 2019

James Smith (Dreams of Mythic Fantasy) has Passed


I just read about the passing of James Smith on Facebook and confirmed it by going to his blog -https://dreamsofmythicfantasy.blogspot.com/

I don't know what to say. James ran one of, if not THE best, news sites in our corner of gaming. His return to Dreams of Mythic Fantasy was exciting for me and I backed his Patreon the moment I heard about it.

His was a calm, encouraging voice amidst the usual noise and it will be sorely missed.

You can leave condolences at: https://www.forevermissed.com/james-albert-smith-jr/#about

I'm not too proud to admit to my tears at the moment. Rest well, my friend.


New Irregular Feature at The Tavern - Tenkar's Terrible Theurgy

This weekend I plan to kick off a series of Tenkar's Terrible Theurgy posts. New spells, magic items, weapons, armor, constructs, creatures, classes - if it is magical in nature, it fits the bill.

The posts will be written for use in Swords & Wizardry Complete, so compatibility with other OSR rulesets should be spot on. They will be released under the OGL.

For example, here is the Elementalist Class I wrote for SWCL back in 2017:

The Elementalist Class for Swords & Wizardry Light

Art by Brett Neufeld
"Some secrets aren't learned in books but are passed down by oral tradition. Such is the path you have chosen. The mysteries of the elements will be yours to control if you complete your trials. If you fail, mother earth will take you into her embrace. And so it begins..."

Elementalist Class for Swords & Wizardry Light

Elementalists get both spell like abilities and an elemental that can do their bidding.

Level   HD   Save   BhB  Adventures needed for Next Level
1           1        15       0       3
2           2        14       0       +4
3           2+1    13       0       +5
4           3        12      +1     +6
5           3+1    11      +1      +7
6           4        10      +2     +8
7           5          9      +2     xx

Elementalists have + 2 to Saves against fire and air bourn poisons. They can use daggers and staves, much like a magic-user.

They get the following abilities at each level:

Level 1: Summon Elemental (described below) Once per Day
Level 2: Gust of Wind - Can summon wind that can disperse papers, fan flames and knock over small (1/2 pound or less) objects Once per Day
Level 3: Breath Water as Air - Once per Day for 1 hr per level
Level 4: Dagger of Fire: Once per Day can summon a Magical Flaming Dagger. Only the Elementalist can wield it. It lasts for 1 round per level (throwing the dagger dispels it early). The Dagger is +1 to hit per level of the Elementalist and does 1d6+3 damage.
Level 5: Ball of Mud - Once per Day as the 2nd level Magic-User Web Spell, but this is made of mud.
Level 6: Fly - Once per Day as Magic-User Spell
Level 7: Fireball - Once per Day as Magic-User Spell

Summon Elemental

The greatest gift (and most dangerous, to the Elementalist as well as his adversaries) is the elemental they can summon.

The AC for a 1 HD elemental is 9[10] and improves by 1 point per HD to 3[16] at 7 HD.

Damage is 1d6, improving to 1d6+2 at level 4 and 2d6 at level 7.

The HD of the summoned elemental can be as many as the Elementalist has levels, but less HD then the max may be chosen. Only one elemental can be summoned each day and the death of an elemental causes damage to the Elementalist equal in HP to the HD of the elemental. Example: The destruction of a 4 HD Elemental causes 4 HP of damage to the Elementalist. Elementalists often dismiss injured elementals early to avoid this danger.

Elemental

AC 9 to 3

HD 1 to 7

Damage 1d6 to 2d6

OGL

Wednesday, April 10, 2019

Kickstarter - Ultimate Bestiary: The Dreaded Accursed for 5th Edition!



"Over 130 new horrific monsters to add to your 5th Edition game! More details, more options, more variations, more fun!"

I love me some monster books and undead monster books generally "take it to eleven" for me. (forgive the Spinal Tap reference)

Ultimate Bestiary: The Dreaded Accursed for 5th Edition! looks to be my cup of tea, even if it is for 5e ;) Seriously, great art and concept from a publisher that has delivered solid 5e releases in the past.
Ultimate Bestiary: The Dreaded Accursed is not another A-Z of monsters. Instead, following on from its predecessor Ultimate Bestiary: Revenge of the Horde, we have focused on some of the commonly encountered undead and accursed monsters like ghosts, ghouls, liches, lycanthropes, and vampires, detailing their origins, environments, and attitudes, as well as introducing a wide variety of stat blocks to suit a range of challenge levels, with a huge variety of unique artwork.
Then its little pieces like the following that truly stand out to me:
Please make sure tankards are washed PROMPTLY and THOROUGHLY. Arteus is clearly upset by mess and clutter and I don’t want to spend another day cleaning up the common-room and scrubbing blood out of the walls. YES, it is hypocritical that he wrecks the place when he’s upset. NO, there is no value in trying to point that out to him.  
-Note posted behind the bar in The Famous Spirit taproom
20 bucks for the PDF. 40 bucks for the hardcover. If I only ran 5e...  ;P

Tuesday, April 9, 2019

Introducing the Tenkar's Tavern One Shot Roleplaying Group on Facebook


So, James Spahn approached me and said something to the effect of: "You know what we are missing as a community? A place to organize and find "One Shot" RPG sessions." And James was right.

One-shots are great when you simply want to grab a group of players and game. Or if you are looking for players to playtest an adventure. Or you want run G1 and your home group is nowhere near the levels needed. Or simply just because.

Jame suggested a Facebook Group. I told him he should do it, and he has. Right now we are simply growing the group's numbers. In a couple of weeks, I'll be recruiting for a one shot RPG session from the group. I expect others will too.

Want to get in now? Here's the link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2317672128253902/

Join us. It should be a blast :)

Monday, April 8, 2019

Reddit - TheOSR - New Reddit Page / Community / Thread?

I'm not a huge user of Reddit. That being said, with the death of G-Plus, the refugees of the various OSR communities have been exploring Reddit as a replacement option.


https://www.reddit.com/r/TheOSR/ is a recent addition to the OSR scene on Reddit. Surprisingly, it is very heavy on sharing various posts from The Tavern (not shared by me). It needs more sharing from the OSR at large to be viable, so if you have links to share or conversations you might want to have, give it a peek.



FYI - the original OSR Reddit community has over 5k subscribers: https://www.reddit.com/r/osr/

Sunday, April 7, 2019

Kickstarter - Maximum HP - RPG Zine Issue 001 (OSR / 1e)


I do love zines. They bring me back to my college days, when one could go to game stores like The Complete Strategist and find a score or more different RPG magazine, professional and self-published, on the magazine rack. Of course, I never had enough cash to buy . all the ones that I wanted, but they gave an amazing bang for the buck in any case.

Maximum HP is a zine I would have purchased back in the day and I am backing it today.

Seriously. A 1e zine and the first issue is dwarven themed? How can I not? heh
In our inaugural issue, we explore the dwarven community of Dwarfhome mountain in Artera. We chose to focus on dwarves this issue because there are so many possible directions to go with them rather than presenting them as just dour short people with Scottish accents. Though we focus on Dwarfhome, the information and quest provided can be inserted into any dwarven society to bring life to your old school campaigns.
From here we catalyze your creativity with our world of imagination, ideas, and quests. 
So, grab your dice good adventurer, grab your books good GMs, and get ready for Maximum HP!! 
Welcome to Artera, welcome to Fail Squad Games! 
Each issue is 5.5″ x 8.5″ (Booklet size) paperback with a card stock gloss color cover and Black & White interior. We are at 31-32 pages of content before ads this issue. Expect the contents to be gritty for your Advanced RPG game but the zine to be polished for smooth play. 
This first introductory issue will be perfect bound and printed on high quality paper with a full color card stock cover. It hardly qualifies as a 'zine, but we want our milestone issues to be special. 
PDF is 3 bucks. Print is 6 bucks. Print plus PDF is 9 bucks. 4 bucks for shipping in the US.

I'm in for 30 myself - taking out a quarter page ad ;)



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